Dispensing valve with individual flow-rate control



A. TURAK May 14, 1957 DISPENSING VALVE WITH INDIVIDUAL. FLOW-RATE CONTROL Filed Jan. 21, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l /nr ffl..

fl. a

May 14 1957 A. TURAK 2,792,018

DISPENSING VALVE WITH INDIVIDUAL. FLOW-RATE CONTROL Filed Jan. 2l, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 li" h INVENTOR. ANTHONY TURAK 12x/WM aim DESPENSENG VALVE WITH INDIVIDUAL FLW-RATE CONTROL Anthony Tui-ak, Cleveland, Ohio Application January 21, 1953, Serial No. 332,458

4 Claims. (Cl. IS7- 604) This invention relates generally to valve structure, and relates more specifically to a dispensing and mixing valve for syrup concentrates and carbonated water.

An object of this invention is to provide a dispensing and mixing valve for two or more different kinds of soft drinks, or plain carbonated water.

Another object of this invention is to provide a valve structure which has primary on-oif control, and a flow control to determine the ratio of fluid dispensed when the primary control is opened.

A further specific object of this invention is to provide a flow-rate control in addition to the on-off control to stabilize the discharge of a variable pressure fluid.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a soda fountain dispensing and mixing valve having a owrate control valve within the on-oi valve plug member, and having the flow-rate control valve accessible from the exterior of the valve member for adjustment of the flow rate Without dismantling of the dispensing valve assembly.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a simplified structure for the discharge lines of a dispensing and mixing valve structure by the provision of an outlet line intersecting a conduit line at an angle and by the provision of a tubular valve body within the outlet line threadably adjustable toward the Wall of the conduit line for blocking the tube of the governor valve body to a selected degree.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the following description and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l of the drawings is a front view of the preferred embodiment of a fluid dispensing and mixing valve construction embodying the principles of this invention,

the outer housing being broken away to reveal the internal i structure;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 2--2 of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially along the line 3 3 of Figure l;

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along line 4--4 of Figure l; and

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along line 5-5 of Figure 1.

Although the actual construction of a gang faucet embodying the principles of this invention may vary according to individual requirements, the construction illustrated in the drawings is the preferred embodiment for general use. The drawings illustrate a gang faucet of conventional appearance enclosed within a suitable housing 18. The invention relates, however, to the mechanical structure within the housing.

The mixing and dispensing mechanism is indicated by the reference character 10. Referring principally to Figure 2 of the drawings, the gang faucet comprises a first valve body 11. One face of the first valve body 11 iS substantially entirely defined by a semi-cylindrical groove ited States Patentu ice surface 12. The surface opposite the groove surface 12 is indicated by the reference character 13.

A second valve body 20 is generally similar to valve body 11 and is provided with a semi-cylindrical groove surface 21. The surface of valve body 211 opposite the groove surface 21 is indicated by the reference character 22. Valve bodies 11 and 20 are positioned with the groove surfaces thereof facing and defining a cylindrical guideway. The valve bodies do not quite touch one another in defining the true cylindrical guideway in order that there will be no possibility of contacting between the valve bodies to transmit pressure from one valve body directly to the other, only through means of a cylindrical valve member 30.

The cylindrical valve member 30 is mounted between the valve bodies 11 and 20 and is thereby rotatable within the guideway defined by the groove surfaces 12 and 21. 1t has been discovered that the first and second valve bodies 11 and 20 may preferably be made of cast nylon in order to eliminate the necessity of using a packing to prevent leakage of fluids between the mating surfaces of the grooves 12 and 21 and the cylindrical member 30. By compressing the first and second valve bodies together upon the cylindrical member, an operative dispensing valve structure is accomplished Without the need of auxiliary packing and guiding mechanisms.

A member 40, which may be referred to as a base member, presents a forward seating surface 39 toward which the surface 13 of valve body 11 may be urged. A plurality of fluid conduits lead from the exterior of the base member into corresponding passageways 35 (see Figure 4), 36 (see Figure 2), and 37 (see Figure S) through the base member 40. The conduits preferably extend through the mounting bracket in order to remain hidden from view. An assembly yoke 70, embracing the valve body 20, cylindrical member 30, and valve body 11, is held in base member 4t) by drive pins '71 but free to move slightly due to clearance holes for pins 71 in yoke 70.

The valve bodies 11 and 20 are urged together to embrace cylindrical member 30 by a pressure screw 72 threadably engaged in yoke 74) and to apply pressure directly against valve body 20. The pressure screw 72 also has a chamber 74 to threadably hold a shut-ofi valve S3. After the desired pressure has been selected, pressure screw 72 is then locked in place by lock nut 73.

In the first valve body 11, iluid passageways 15 (Figure 4), 16 (Figure 2), and 17 (Figure 5) extend from the exterior of the valve body 11 to the groove surface 12'. In the illustrated embodiment these passageways open in the surface 13 and are spaced to register with the passageways 35, 36, and 37 passing through the base member 40. ShortA locating conduit sections 27, 28, and 29 form a continuation of passageways 35, 36, and 37 and project beyond the seating surface 39, and therefore the first valve body 11 may be impinged upon these conduits 27, 2S, and 29 and form a liquid tight seal and properly locate the valve body 11. A gasket 38 is positioned around each conduit tube 27, 21, and 29 between surfaces 13 and 39 in order to remove the necessity of precision t.

The second valve body is provided with iiuid passageways 23, 24, and 25 extending from the groove surface 21 to the exterior of valve body 20. It is with respect to the control of ow rate through these outlet passageways that the present invention is largely directed as an additional feature over parent application 313,626`

There are a plurality of uid passageways 31, 32, and 33 through the valve member Sti; and it may be seen by reference to the Figures 2, 4, and 5 and the sectional view Figure 3 that each of these iiuid passageways has an entrance opening angularly spaced along the surface of the valve member 30 with respect to one another in a predetermined pattern for registering a selected number of the Huid passageways in the valve bodies 11 and 20 and conducting uid under pressure through the valve. Movement of the valve member 3b into various selected positions will alternately block oh? all ofthe fluid passageways or connect a selected pair of the passageways as desired. The tluid passageway 31, as shown in Figure 4, is X- shaped and, therefore, has one portion thereof aligned with one of the passageways 32 or 33. Therefore, when the valve member 3i) i's turnedto register the passageway 33 with the supply and exhaust conduits in the first' and second valve bodies, one leg ofpassageway 31 will register with theV fluid passageway 15. Likewise, when. passageway 32. is alignedlwithfluid passageway 16, the other leg ofpassageway 31,wi1l.be aligned with uidpassageway 15.

The further details of construction and operation of` the improved fluid shut-off valve may be referred. to. in, applacatiomSerialNm 313,626.

The valve member 30 is rotated between selected positions by means of a suitable4 handle 60 which spans the housing 118l and engages the ends of the valve member 30 as illustrated in Figure l of the drawings. The new type thumb screw assemblies 34, which constitute a further improvement of this invention, hold the. handle 60 engagedinto the valve member 30.

ln the application Serial No. 313,626 there was no control provided to regulate thev rate ofl iluid flow. The valve 30 would provide, an on-otf control, but the rate of low once the valve was turned on was determined solely by the amount of pressure of the fluids being dispensed. In co-pending application Serial No. 244,155, now Patent No. 2,733,739, there is provided a pressure responsive control to maintain the ow of a variable pressure uid, such as the carbonated water, at a uniform preselected rate.

In this invention a fluid ow governor valve 45 resides within a governor valve chamber 48. The chamber 48 intersects the line` being governed at an angle on one side thereof. The governor valve is longitudinally adjustable in the valve chamber. Preferably, a cross chamber, such for example as the dead end chamber 50 illustrated' in Figures 3 and 5, provides a wall portion perpendicular to the axis ofthe chamber to receive the end of a governor valve plug 49 and thereby provides for closer control.

The specific construction of the type of governor valve 45. which. may be employed for aparticular purpose may vary in appearance and location, but remains substantially unchanged in actualperformance. In Figure 3 of the drawings there is illustrated the improved construction of an embodiment of the governor valve of this application for use internally ofthe actual shut-off valve. In Figure 3 the governor valve chamber 48 is provided axially from one end of the rotatable cylindrical valve member 30, and the valve plug 49 is threadably engaged into the chamber. The governor valve chamber intersects the center of the X-shaped huid passageway 31 and extends thereacross to the wall portion of the dead end chamber 50. The end of valve plug 49 has a flat surface toY iit closely into the chamber 50. An O-ring packing 55 prevents leakage of uid from fluid passageway 31 out past the valve plug 49. A lock nut 56 is employed in the conventional maner to holdv the handle 69 engaged with the valve 30, but is provided with a threaded passageway through which the. governor valve 45 extends. Therefore, adjustment of valve 45 is accomplished by loosening the lock nut 56 and adjusting the valve 45 to the position desired, whereafter the lock nut 56 is again tightened to hold the valve 45 in` the selected position. It. is, therefore,` apparent that adjustment of this particular valve may be accomplished from the exterior of the dispensing valve structure and, accordingly, is desirable for controlling a rapidly variable fluid. In soda-fountain. operations. the most variable pressure is the. carbonated water. Normally, the pressure upon the syrup concentrates remains substantially fixed once they have been established. Accordingly, it is not often necessary to adjust the flow rate of the syrup concentrates after they have once been established. Furthermore, adjustment of the rate of flow of the carbonated water will compensate for any change in the rate of ow of the syrup concentrates.

A second embodiment of the basic governor valve construction is illustrated best in Figure 5. In this Figure 5 the go 'ennor valve 45A has a chamber 48A provided at an angle with respect to the tluid passageway 25 and, in fact, is extended across the uid passageway 25 to form the dead end` chamber 50A. The valve plug 49A is threadably engaged in the chamber 48A and is, therefore, longitudinally adjustable with respect to the dead end chamber 50A. The valve plug 49A of Figure 5 is provided with a tubular bore 57 through which the iiuid may ilow frompassageway 25 to the exterior of the valve struc-ture 10. B'y providing thedead end chamber 50A, the end ofl valve plug 49A may be extended completely across the passageway 25 and'bring the flow of fluid to a complete stop. Of course, such full stoppage is never desired, but by providing adjustment which may be carried completley to a full stop, then any degree of adjustment is possible.` If the dead end chamber 50A is omitted, the endl of valve plug 49A, which is in a hat plane, would be limited in the amount of closing which could be accomplished against' the tubular side wall of Vthe passageway 25.V The uid, inthe embodiment of the governor valve 45A illustrated in Figure 5, passes between the end of valve plug 49A and the wall of the passageway 25 up into the dead end chamber 50A and then out through the bore 57. The valve plug 49A may be rotated when the housing 18 is removed; and therefore, when the dispensing valve is first installed, the desired flow of syrup concentrate is established by rotating the valve plug 49A and adjusting its longitudinal position within the valve chamber 48A.

In Figure 2 of the drawings there is illustrated a similar governor valve construction 45B coupled with an auxiliary control in the form of a shut-off valve 53. In this embodiment the fluid passageway 24 is enlarged into the form. of a valve chamber 52 and provided with shutoff'valveY 53 having a finger knob 54 located externally of thc housing 18. Although theoretically not required, an annular ridge 51 is found to be desirable upon which a resilient insert 51 of the shut-off valve 53 may seat. The shut-off valve 53 and its operation are of well-known construction'. However, the valve chamber 48B ends adjacent a wall portion or dead end chamber 50B near thel outside wall of the' insert 51, rather than extending across thelin'e124; It is obviously true that a shut-off valve couldbe provided, and the exact construction of a governor valve as illustrated in Figure 5 could be employed. However, it is desirable in this particular instant to alter the exact construction of the governor valve 45B and in this particular instance improve the design of the over-'all construction by saving space. The tubular valve plug 49B. `illustrated in Figure 2 is adjusted with respect' to the wall portion or dead end chamber 69 and, therefore, will control the amount of iluid which enters intoV the central bore of the tube and passes to the exterior of the valve structure 10'.

lPreviousl valve constructions have been designed to dispenseftwo-mixed beverages and one unmixed beverage from three supply lines by supplying three active dispensing positions for thehandle 60-plus a neutral position. Nevertheless, in many'instances, such as for use in tav-ems, it is desirable toV have a gang faucet which will dispense two carbonated beverages or plain soda water. In order to dispense only soda water, they valve 53 isl rotated to advance the valve 53 and close off the fluid. passageway 24. The handle 60 is then moved to the position, shownv in Figure 2, which will register fluid passageway 32 with.: the fluid passageway 24. As previously pointed out, such positioning of passageways 32 and Za in registration will place the passageways 31 and 23 in registration also. Consequently, with the passageway 24 blocked oit by the valve 5.3, flow can be obtained only through the passageway 23. Passageway 23 is normally employed only for carbonated water; and therefore, the third beverage, namely carbonated water, is dispensed from the valve structure by closing the shutoff valve 53. No particular care or skill is required to determine the degree of opening of the shut-olf valve 53 to again establish mixed drink dispensing.

There is illustrated a diifusimg basket 66 below the valve structure 10. This basket is provided for the purpose of receiving the carbonated water and allowing the water to expand in that basket before flowing downwardly through the nozzle. of the housing 1S. Thus, every time the dispensing valve is used, regardless of whether a mixed drink or plain soda water is dispensed, the lower portion of the housing 18 is completely flooded by bubbling expanded carbonated water and will therefore be washed clean during every use. Note that the outlet 76 from passageway 23 in Figure 4 stops at the top of the diffusing basket 66, whereas the basket 66 is provided with valve tube opening 68 to allow the valve plugs 49B and 49A from lines 24 and 25 to extend through the basket. Syrup concentrates are not placed in the basket 66 at any time. The openings 68 are large enough to allow a free flow of water out of the basket and down around the exterior surface of the tubular valve plugs 49A and 49B to keep the plugs washed clean at all times. Furthermore, outlet openings 67 from the basket 66 are placed high along the sides of the basket 66 to cause a small amount of the water to be retained in the basket for a short period until it can run out of the openings 63 and give a inal wash after all the luid passageways have been completely closed.

Although the invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. In a iluid dispensing valve structure having a valve body, two fluid conduit lines in said valve body, a manually operable valve in said lines, said valve having a fluid conducting Icondition and a fluid blocking condition, and two discharge lines from said manually operable valve, the provision of improved adjustment outlets from said discharge lines comprising, providing a separate dead end for each said discharge line, a common mixing area for said valve structure, a separate cross line emptying into said common mixing area intersecting each said discharge line at an angle and extending beyond each said discharge line to a dead end surface, and a separate tubular plug member threadably engaged in each said cross line and adjustable thereby to extend a selected degree across said discharge line and capable of engaging said last mentioned dead end surface for a tluid blocking condition.

2. A beverage mixing and dispensing valve comprising, a valve body, said body having a valve socket chamber, a plurality of huid conduits leading from the exterior of said body into said valve socket chamber, a valve plug rotatably mounted fluid-tight in said valve socket chamber, said valve plug having longitudinal end walls exposed to atmosphere, a plurality of passageways laterally through said valve plug, said valve body having a plurality of receiving chambers each positioned to register with diterent ones of said plurality of passageways in one rotational position of said valve plug, a governor valve chamber extending longitudinally of said valve plug and intersecting a passageway of said valve plug at an angle to the direction thereof, a iiow rate control valve plug threadably engaged in said governor valve chamber and longitudinally adjustable to extend a selected degree across said intersected passageway, adjustment means exposed on the exterior of said valve body to adjust said valve plug, an outlet valve chamber intersecting each receiving chamber at an angle to the direction thereof, a tubular outlet valve member threadably engaged in at least two of said outlet valve chambers, a wall portion of said at least two chambers toward vwhich said tubular outlet valve member is directed, said tubular outlet valve members being adjustable toward said wall portions to a selected degree to partially close the tubular outlets thereof, and a shut-olf valve in at least one receiving chamber.

3. A beverage mixing and dispensing valve comprising, a valve body, said body having a valve socket chamber, a plurality of fluid conduits leading from the exterior of said body into said valve socket chamber, `a valve plug rotatably mounted huid-tight in said valve socket chamber, said valve plug having longitudinal end walls exposed to atmosphere, a plurality or passageways laterally through said valve plug, a governor valve chamber extending longitudinally of said valve plug and intersecting a passageway of said valve plug at an angle to the direction thereof, a flow rate control valve plug threadably engaged in said governor valve chamber and longitudinally adjustable to extend a selected degree across said passageway, adjustment means exposed on the exterior of said valve body to adjust said valve plug, a plurality of receiving chambers in said body selectively communicating with said plurality of passageways in said valve plug, and a tubular outlet valve member threadably engaged in said valve body and movable at an angle toward a wall of one of said receiving chambers to partially close the tubular outlet of said tubular outlet valve member.

4. A beverage mixing and dispensing valve comprising, a valve body, said body having a valve socket chamber, a plurality of fluid conduits leading from the exterior of said body into said valve socket chamber, a valve plug rotatably mounted fluid-tight in said valve socket chamber, ysaid valve plug having longitudinal end walls exposed to atmosphere, a plurality of passageways laterally through said valve plug, said valve body having a plurality of receiving chambers each positioned to register with a passageway in one rotational position of said valve plug, an outlet valve chamber intersecting each receiving chamber at an angle to the direction thereof, a tubular outlet valve member threadably engaged in each outlet valve chamber, a wall portion of said chamber toward which said tubular outlet valve member is directed, said tubular outlet valve member being adjustable toward said wall portion to a selected degree to partially close the tubular outlet thereof, and a shut-off valve in at least one receiving chamber.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

